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Anna Karenina

Leo Tolstoy,

David Magarshack (Translator)

Start date: May 1, 2013

Finish date: May 31, 2013

Discussion: May 2013- Anna Karenina

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May 2013- Anna Karenina

* Part 1, Chapter 1-34
By Karena · 44 posts · 323 views

last updated May 21, 2013 07:48PM

* Part 2, Chapter 1-35
By Karena · 43 posts · 125 views

last updated May 24, 2013 12:53PM

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What Members Thought

May 29, 2011 Marie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: ontd-book-club, classics

I have to say that it's a bit odd reviewing a classic work that has been around for over a century. Nothing can be said that has already been said, and my lowly opinion will just be one of many that have been expressed on Tolstoy's masterpiece. But reading this book was such a fulfilling experience for me that I can't help but add my thoughts to the collective masses.

As I read it, at first it felt like it wasn't really about anything, to the point that I had to ask what the purpose of this story I have to say that it's a bit odd reviewing a classic work that has been around for over a century. Nothing can be said that has already been said, and my lowly opinion will just be one of many that have been expressed on Tolstoy's masterpiece. But reading this book was such a fulfilling experience for me that I can't help but add my thoughts to the collective masses.

As I read it, at first it felt like it wasn't really about anything, to the point that I had to ask what the purpose of this story is. I suppose I can say that it's about a woman who has an affair and suffers the consequences, both just and unjust. But diluting it to something so simple means belittling the richness and poignance of Levin's experiences (which parallel Anna's) or disregarding the many themes the story encompasses (love, class/society, isolation, etc.).

I may be in the minority, but the romance between her and Vronsky did nothing for me. They were so doe-eyed and syrupy it was practically nauseating; certainly it resulted in me channeling my inner Liz Lemon:

Anna and Vronsky's relationship may have been the spark that ignited the book's events, but I was firmly invested in Kitty and especially Levin. They helped each other become better people in a way that Anna and Vronsky couldn't achieve. Anna's descent into paranoia and depression was the antithesis of Levin's enlightenment. It was particularly interesting when Levin and Anna meet as the trajectories of their lives are going in opposite directions.

Honestly, I can't even readily answer why this book affected me the way it did. All I know is that it wasn't something I could easily dismiss; I stewed over it for days after I finished reading. Perhaps it was because Anna, who I found annoying, ended up being somewhat heroic despite her tragic demise (one can even say that Anna was doomed to fail, since it's evident that Kitty had all the virtues Tolstoy felt was ideal in a woman). Maybe because I couldn't help but rooting for Levin, a person who sought meaning and happiness in everything he did, which is something that we can all strive for.

It may have taken eighteen chapters for the title character to show up, but by the end it's clear why the story belongs to Anna. ...more

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